This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
This module explores the monsters of Roman culture, mythological and otherwise, treated as a series of self-contained but interrelated topics. Most were inherited from Greece but adapted for new tastes and purposes. Latin poetry in translation is the focus, and Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses are the central texts, but prose sources and the visual arts are included where appropriate, as well as comparisons with earlier Greek sources. Major figures such as the Cyclopes, the Centaurs and Medusa are included, but the definition of the 'monster’ is broad, incorporating (for example) the supposed bodily imperfections of emperors, or the strange features of personified figures such as Hunger and Envy.
Total Contact Hours: 40
Total Private Study Hours: 260
Total Study Hours: 300
Main assessment methods:
• Essay 1 (2,500 words) – 40%
• Essay 2 (3,000 words) – 60%
Reassessment methods:
• 100% Coursework (3,000 words)
Indicative Reading List -
C. Day Lewis (trans.), Vergil: The Aeneid (Oxford: Oxford UP 1998)
A.D. Melville (trans.), Ovid: Metamorphoses (Oxford: Oxford UP 1998)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate developed skills in exegesis, critical analysis, and assessment to see how Roman texts represent monsters, and how this reflects their historical and cultural context;
2 Show systematic critical understanding, through clear expression of a wide range of Roman literary forms through the examination of primary and secondary sources;
3 Show systematic knowledge and understanding of another culture, whether focused on literature or history.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate systematically the skill of selective reading;
2 Communicate effectively the skills of close reading, academic debate and independent research whilst being aware of conflicting sources;
3 Carry out analytical study and enquiry at a sophisticated level;
4 Apply their knowledge of methods of inquiry to new areas of knowledge understanding of the controversies in relevant scholarship and engage in academic debate;
5 Demonstrate developed skills of independent and wide-ranging research;
6 Manage time effectively and learn reflectively; develop IT, oral communication, and study skills at a level appropriate for advanced study.
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